Lord Mayor Honours Inspirational Cork Figures with Civic, Culture, Community, and Voluntary Awards
12/06/2026
Cork City’s vibrant community spirit was honoured at the 2026 Lord Mayor’s Civic, Culture, Community and Voluntary Awards on Wednesday night as outstanding contributions across the arts, climate action, social inclusion, sport and community development were recognised.
A number of individuals were honoured with Civic Awards for their exceptional service to the community.
Patricia Cotter, a community worker with the SICAP Programme in Cork City Partnership, was honoured for her outstanding commitment to social inclusion and community wellbeing.
Damien Cuffe was honoured for his leadership in the community-led restoration of the Moore family home in Ballincollig following a devastating fire in 2025.
Bob O’Donovan, known to most as ‘Handsome Bob’, was honoured for his contribution to soccer in Cork as a player, mentor and chairman.
Olive Morris was honoured for her dedication to supporting young people and families.
Victor Tabone was recognised for his long-term service to Togher Community Association.
And John Wiseman was honoured for his role in revitalising boxing in Cork.
The Community and Voluntary Award winners were named in six categories, as follows:
- Graffiti Theatre Company won the Arts, Culture and Heritage category;
- Togher Tidy Towns won the Climate Action and Sustainable Development category;
- The Dillon’s Cross Project won the Community Development and Lifelong Learning category;
- Cork City Athletic Club won the Recreation, Sport, Health and Wellbeing category;
- Boxing Clever Cork won the Social Inclusion, Advocacy and Integration category;
- Saoirse Ethnic Hands On Deck won the Social Enterprise Innovation category.
The prestigious overall award was presented to Cycling for All Cork, recognised for its exceptional contribution to inclusion, representation and community engagement across the city.
“The winners represent the best of what this city has to offer its citizens but in truth all nominees and shortlisted organisations reflect this,” the Lord Mayor said.
The Lord Mayor’s Culture Award was jointly presented to Evelyn Grant and Gerry Kelly in recognition of their lifelong contribution to music, education and community engagement in Cork.
The duo, who have introduced generations of schoolchildren to live music through Cork Pops, were praised for their dedication to making music accessible to all and for inspiring generations of young musicians.
“In choosing this year’s joint Culture Award winners I have chosen two people who individually and collectively have entertained, encouraged and trained generations or young cork musicians and inspired, through their infectious enthusiasm, a love, passion and enjoyment of music that has enriched all our lives,” the Lord Mayor said.
All winners of a Community and Voluntary Award, including the overall winners, were presented with a piece of artwork entitled ‘Evening whispers of Cork’ from local Cork artist Sue Nelson.
A special Community Spirit award was presented, posthumously, to the late Mark O’Connor, who died earlier this year, one of the inspirational founding members of the dragon boating group, Cork Dragons. It was awarded in recognition of his tireless dedication to supporting cancer survivors through sport and his work with the Cork Dragons, and it was accepted by members of his family.
The Lord Mayor said: “Mark’s infectious enthusiasm, energy and humour touched everybody around him and changed their day, week and sometimes life.
“To see him on the river, encouraging, supporting and helping despite his own battles with his diagnosis and treatment was astounding.
“The recent event held on the river in his honour was testament to that in that the emergency services, search and recovery units, kayakers, rowers, currachers and of course his beloved Dragons turned out in huge numbers to celebrate a life and to acknowledge the impact he had in his all too short life.
“It is a huge honour for me to give this award to his family and to let them know we share in their loss and mourn his passing and to let them know how much he meant to the entire city.”
The Lord Mayor said it was his honour to preside over such an important and prestigious event in the city’s calendar.
“Although the event bears my name it is not my event,” the Lord Mayor said.
“I am just the present holder of this distinguished office and as my term as Lord Mayor draws to a close, I can think of no better way to celebrate than in recognising the immense contribution particular individuals and groups have made to the fabric of our city.
“We have an abundance of riches in the breadth of people across all walks of life we could have chosen from but I’m sure you’ll all agree that those we celebrate tonight are thoroughly deserving of that honour.
“Cork has changed quite a lot since these awards were first presented and yet for all that has changed much remains the same.
“We have all been touched or had our lives enriched by the work of one or more of tonight’s award recipients and this is the location and occasion to acknowledge and recognise that.”
The Lord Mayor also thanked The Echo, media partners and sponsors of the event.
The Chief Executive of Cork City Council, Valerie O’Sullivan, said the Lord Mayor’s Civic, Culture, Community and Voluntary Awards ceremony honours the best of Cork.
“It is about acknowledging and rewarding those individuals and organisations for all they do to make Cork a great city to live in,” the Chief Executive said.
“Without people and groups like this, Cork City Council simply could not do this work.
“As Chief Executive it has been my singular honour to have served most of my working life in the service of the public, through local government, and to see how the city has grown and changed.
“For all its changes, development and expansion, one thing still lies at the heart of what makes Cork special - its network of communities and the people who enrich it.”